


Stars- they burn, as the Dragons soar

by anisstaranise



Series: Of Stars and Dragons [1]
Category: Glee, Seraphina - Rachel Hartman
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-12-14 08:30:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 7,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11779305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anisstaranise/pseuds/anisstaranise
Summary: Silver stars speckled amongst the rolling velvet black of the night. Suddenly, the stars disappeared behind moving black masses in the sky; four great masses, blacker than the darkest night. The masses grew larger as they descended slowly on the clearing, bringing warm breeze of a wingbeat, flickering some of the torches’ flames and extinguishing others.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [Seblaine Week 2017](http://seblaineaffairs.tumblr.com/tagged/sw2017): _Day 7 - Royalty_.
> 
> Inspired by the gorgeous world and characters constructed by [Rachel Hartman](https://rachelhartmanbooks.com/) in her _Seraphina_ and _Shadow Scale_ novels.

Prologue

The air was still, the flames of torches in their poled-braces barely moving as if standing at attention, steadfast as the knights around them. Ahead of the knights stood a man, poised with sovereignty, his cloak of fur and brocade trailing behind him, a crown of gold and jewels atop his head; King Ander of Oscin.

Flanking either side of the king were two men, the bejewelled silver coronets that rested upon their heads glinting in the light of the torches. At the king’s right stood Prince Copeland- the eldest son, His Majesty’s right hand man and successor to the throne. The heir to the kingdom towered a head over his father, clad in the royal hues of gold and purple, his chest puffed with pride and shoulders set to carry the weight of his birthright.

To the king’s left, stood the second son, Prince Blaine, clad in black to his toes to match the raven curls atop his head, a brethren shade of the shadows ready to be swallowed by the darkness if not for the torches illuminating the clearing they stood in.

The three men of the monarchy cast their eyes towards the sky, silver stars speckled amongst the rolling velvet black of the night. Suddenly, the stars disappeared behind moving black masses in the sky; four great masses, blacker than the darkest night. The masses grew larger as they descended slowly on the clearing, bringing warm breeze of a wingbeat, flickering some of the torches’ flames and extinguishing others.

At last, four great dragons landed mightily before the sovereign of Oscin, the earth quaking beneath their talons. The largest of the dragons, the elected leader of dragonkind they call the Ardmagar bowed cordially, his great serpentine foot set before him, neck stretched to the ground.

“Welcome, comrade,” King Ander shouted up merrily to the dragon. “Please, make yourselves comfortable.”

Accepting the king’s invitation, the Ardmagar screeched back a command at the accompanying dragons of his entourage. The next moment, the four dragons contracted, flesh rippling under their scales, wings and tails retracting into their bodies until four people stood before the royal envoy- three men and a woman, unabashedly naked; the dragons had shrunk into their _saarantrai_ , their human forms.

 A screen of magnificently carved oak stood just to the side of the clearing where the now-human dragons- the _saars_ \- could make themselves decent, although it was more for the benefit of (a few of) the knights who had turned red in the cheeks at the sight of stark nakedness. Soon after, the four _saars_ emerged from behind the screen, dressed in Oscin’s gold and purple hues that matched Prince Copeland’s attire; a gesture of good faith on the Oscinite royals’ part in regarding the _saars_ as noble equals.

It was the summer solstice of the fiftieth year after the Peace Treaty was signed; a contract that ended the Dragon War with the five realms of the North, spearheaded by a then-twenty year old King Ander, newly crowned after his late mother, the Queen of Oscin passed. He and the Ardmagar had struck an agreement that had helped preserve the lives of many dragons and humans alike. The treaty was celebrated every twenty-five years to strengthen the dragon-human relations, starting with the summer solstice and ending with the autumnal equinox; dragons revered astronomy.

King Ander stepped forward to embrace the Ardmagar; even in his saarantras the Ardmagar was impressively larger than the king; bulks of muscled arms strained under the sleeves of his tunic and the Ardmagar had to bend slightly to kiss the king’s cheeks in greeting as per Northlander traditions.

“Come-” the king said thumping the Ardmagar’s back, an intimate gesture of two long-time friends. “-there is much to celebrate. 50 years of peace is quite the feat.”

If the Ardmagar was pleased to see King Ander again, he didn’t show it; dragons weren’t averse to emotions but it wasn’t in draconic culture to _feel_. They deemed emotions to be illogical; dragons revered logic above all else. However, having been taught the ways of the Northlanders for diplomatic purposes, the Ardmagar kept his hand upon the king’s arm as they walked towards the castle; a gesture of solidarity amongst nobles.

As the turning Earth tilted closer to the Sun that solstice evening, the king’s welcoming party and the Ardmagar’s envoy started filing out of the clearing. And with each leaving party, two souls tilted ever closer to each other; the king’s second son and a green-eyed _saar_ of the Ardmagar’s entourage.

-x-


	2. Blaine

The Council Hall was void of its long oak table where the king conferred with his knights, replaced with several banquet tables pushed to the stony castle walls, its surface lined from one end to the other with mouth-watering Northlander cuisine, exotic feathered game and fruits imported from the countries of the five realms and honeyed-mead.

It was the third night of festivities where nobles and courtiers honoured the _saars_. The hall was a burst of colours and music; fools jest the crowd, the court musician sang as her fingers plucked the strings of her oud.

In a shadowy corner, Blaine stood where the light of the torches set in the sconce couldn’t touch him. His dark curls fell over his eyes like a veil hiding him behind closed curtains. Through them, he observed the celebrations around him, letting his eyes roam where his feet dared not, noting the merry crowd with a tinge of sadness and anxiety in his chest.

While scanning the hall, he suddenly caught sight of a pair of piercing green eyes gazing straight at him, tearing through the crowd as if the hall was empty. Blaine’s stomach lurched. He had always gone through great pains to remain unseen, to will himself invisible. To be paid attention even in the minutest degree made him uneasy- especially when it was from one of the _saars_ from the Ardmagar’s entourage.

A moment passed and the green-eyed _saar_ still held his gaze. Blaine turned away the moment their eyes had met but he couldn’t help peer through his curls to see if the _saar_ was still looking at him. Perhaps he was mistaken, he had thought. Perhaps he was merely imagining things. Blaine was always one with the shadow; no one ever paid any mind to a shadow. But when he brought his gaze back up from the floor, the _saar_ was still looking at him with such interest, the way he imagined one would look at the sunset.

Blaine jumped a little when the hall was suddenly filled with the sound of clinking goblets; a call for attention for the king. For a brief moment, the _saar_ looked away, turning his attention to the head of the room where the king rose to give a toast. He seized the opportunity to slink further into the shadows, walking along the walls behind the tapestries to stay out of sight. And yet, he could still feel the _saar_ ’s gaze following him out into the night.

-x-


	3. The Saar

The marketplace outside the castle’s great walls bustled with life and sounds of merchants calling for patrons. Saw dust littered the ground in an effort to cover the muddy puddles left by the downpour of unseasonal rain. All in vain, he thought amusedly as his boots squelched the soggy earth, soiling his leather sandals.

A waft of unpleasant odour intruded his olfactory senses and he scrunched his face instinctively. A week had passed since his arrival in Oscin and he still couldn’t fathom that smell. He walked over to the stall that was the source of his displeasure, determined to find the reason and logic of its existence.

A man stood before the stall, conversing (or was it bargaining?) with the merchant behind it, fingers gingerly picking samples of the off-putting slices and bringing it to his nose, taking a whiff before eating it. He was positively fascinated.

“Why do you humans subject yourselves to such a ghastly... delicacy?” he asked the man, curious.

He observed the way the man’s body tensed at his question. Slowly, the man turned to face him and much to his surprise, he was delighted to find dark curls draping over browns eyes that were regarding him with such vehemence; it was Prince Blaine himself.

“Do not demean something your dragon palette cannot appreciate,” the prince replied, his tone cold. He observed the unfriendly leer the prince threw his way before turning back to the merchant.

“Did my question upset you, Your Highness?” he asked, confused. He was well trained in the art of human diplomacy but it was still difficult for his draconic nature to discern what was or wasn’t taboo amongst them; the human ego was just as fragile as their bodies, it seemed.

“You have said something offensive, yes,” the prince retorted, still fiddling with the yellow samples on the stall’s counter top. “Oscin dairy is the best in all the five realms. Our cheese is our most prized produce. Kingdoms far and wide grapple at the opportunity to trade with us. I find it unbecoming for someone of the Ardmagar’s diplomatic envoy to make such a remark.”

He assessed the situation; the prince is offended. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to stop the shadow of a grin playing on his lips.

“Forgive me, Your Highness,” he said, bowing in apology as the Northlanders would. “This is my first diplomatic excursion. I’ve yet been able to put my knowledge to practice.”

He noted the sense of pride that had puffed in the prince’s chest a moment ago when he had defended Oscin’s delicacy started to deflate. The prince’s shoulders hunched as if to curl into himself. From his week of observations, it truly intrigued him every time the prince would try to make himself smaller, to make himself... invisible somehow. Had he said too much or offended the prince more? It was quite a task to keep track of such human decorum, he thought.

“I am Sebastian,” he said, bowing in full courtesy. He didn’t feel the situation called for something so formal, but he found he wanted to please the prince; it was a very curious thing to want, he noted.

“Sebastian?” the prince asked, brushing his curls away from his eyes as he turned to face him. For the first time, he noticed how the prince dark brown eyes twinkled- with kindness and wonder- the way a star would.

“Yes.”

“What a peculiarly... plain name for a dragon,” the prince said bluntly but quickly turned shy when he smiled.

“Your human tongue couldn’t begin to pronounce my dragon name,” he said matter-of-factly.

The prince muttered a soft “Pardon me” before turning swiftly to leave.

“Your Highness, perhaps-” he called after the prince.

Prince Blaine stopped hesitantly in his attempt to leave, turning slowly to face him again.

“Perhaps it is best if Your Highness would tutor me in all things Oscin- and human, of course- so I won’t make the same error in offending anyone else.”

He observed how the prince seemed to be deliberating the decision, noting the way his brows furrowed, the way a corner of his mouth twitched as if holding a silent conversation. A moment passed before the prince nodded and agreed to meet the next day in the library after breakfast.

As he watched the prince disappear into the marketplace crowd, he found himself intrigued. A lot of things fascinated him, appealing to his dragon curiosity. He had never quite felt intrigue before and yet, the prince intrigued him immensely.

-x-


	4. Blaine

The late morning sun streamed through the opened windows, the panes pushed all the way out to welcome the summer breeze. Blaine sat at his spinet, the polished wood gleaming in the sun’s rays. He glanced at the doorway, waiting for Sebastian to arrive. It had been two weeks since they had settled in a routine.

Truthfully, it hadn’t occurred to him that his meeting with Sebastian would become a daily occurrence. He was sure it would have been just the once; meeting the _saar_ in the library to discuss proprieties of the North. But Sebastian would find him every day, loaded with questions and curiosity on Northlander politics that he soon started looking forward to seeing the _saar_.

Admittedly, on days Sebastian hadn’t come calling, he had gone seeking, eager to find a reason to be in Sebastian’s company. Sebastian had that effect on him; being in the company of the _saar_ made him... happy.

A bell tolled somewhere in the distance; the day is closer to noon than he had expected. Sebastian was late.

Unwilling to give up his wait just yet, Blaine ran his fingers on the smooth spinet keys. Soon, his agile fingers tickled the praeludium notes of his own composition, transitioning to a melodic fugue expertly, the polyphonic melody filling every crevice of his body, seeping to his bones. The euphoria of music made Blaine feel like he could float out of his body, away from Oscin, away from who he was and be something else altogether. To be _someone_ else.

Blaine finished his song, a sigh of content escaping his lips. Then, there was applause behind him. Instinctively, his hands fell shyly to his lap. He ducked his head to let his curls fall over his face, like drawing the drapes closed- a habit he had developed through the years of trying to be unseen.

“That was beautiful, Your Highness,” Sebastian said, stepping closer to him as his applause died down.

Blaine’s skin burned under the compliment, searing down to his toes. He was still unaccustomed to the attention Sebastian had been giving him. He was used to being in the shadows, overlooked by the king and queen most of his life, his upbringing charged to the governesses at court, his adolescence eclipsed by his brother, Copeland’s great renown.

“Your playing is quite flawless,” the _saar_ said piling on compliment after compliment.

“Thank you,” Blaine said, a smile pulling wide at the corners of his mouth.

If it were anyone else, their attention would have sent him hiding; he abhorred others’ showing interest in him or his well being, never feeling like he quite deserved it. But with Sebastian, he rather liked it- and he suspected it was mostly because it _was_ Sebastian.

-x-


	5. Sebastian

The Oscin courtiers danced in twos, alternating partners when the tempo changed, holding up a hand that was only almost touching their partner’s. The music soared off the walls of the hall, the tinkling spinet melodiously sublime.

Sebastian stood to the side of the room, a tankard of mead in hand; he hadn’t liked the taste of the drink when he first arrived in Oscin but two months into his diplomatic envoy- along with his daily meetings with Prince Blaine- has changed his opinion and palette. He politely declined a courtier’s invitation to dance, content where he was.

“You feel for the prince,” came a voice behind him, sweet and sultry but not without a sting dancing in its tone.

He turned to find the _saar_ Quinn, the Ardmagar’s lieutenant- a petite woman with piercing blue eyes and fine yellow hair that shamed the sun pulled into a braided bun piled at the nape of her neck in Oscinite fashion.

“Is that a question or a statement, Your Grace?” Sebastian asked, an eyebrow arched, amused.

Applause broke around them when the music ended. Both Sebastian and Quinn turned towards the musician behind the spinet, dressed in black trousers topped with a dark purple doublet, his raven black hair slicked to the side in a handsome wave; Prince Blaine, ever the sight to behold.

“He is... different,” Quinn said cocking her head slightly, her eyes twinkling with a familiar draconic curiosity.

Sebastian regarded Blaine from a distance, from the absence of curls hanging in his face to the colours the prince seemed to don as of late.

“He is different from the day we met, yes.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Quinn countered.

Puzzled, Sebastian tore his gaze from the prince and turned to face the _saar_ lieutenant.

“You mean, he isn’t like the other humans,” Sebastian said, offering his thoughts on the prince; he had yet to meet anyone quite like Blaine.

Quinn seemed to consider the prince, watching from afar. “He is certainly unlike some of the others I’ve met,” she said, conceding to Sebastian’s appraisal of the young royal.

Sebastian smiled, returning his attention to the prince who was still behind the spinet, talking to admiring courtiers who had milled up to him.

“Have a care with those feelings of yours, Sebastian,” Quinn said as she turned to leave. “The matters of the heart are as illogical as they come.”

Sebastian watched as Quinn mingled with the courtiers, more practiced at being diplomatic and human-like than he had been. Across the room, he caught Blaine looking at him. The prince smiled and Sebastian noted the way his heartbeat quickened.

Curious, he thought. He couldn’t find a logical explanation or a biological reasoning for his reaction yet he felt, looking at Blaine, it was as logical a reaction as they come.

-x-


	6. Sebastian & Blaine

“Blaine-” Sebastian called as they strolled in the clearing where he had first landed two months ago, the name intimate on his human _saarantras’_  tongue after the prince insisted to omit unnecessary formalities. “- how well do you know your kingdom?”

Blaine was swinging a thin fallen branch like a sickle upon the blades of tall grass and weed flowers, carefree and enjoying the reprieve from princely duties.

“As well as any prince should,” the prince answered confidently. “I can find my way around the kingdom even without my sight.”

Sebastian smiled. He didn’t doubt that Blaine could; the prince loved his kingdom, his people. Blaine was ever proud of it all as he had the privilege of witnessing the day they had met at the market place. His careless remark on the Oscin cheese nearly started a new Dragon war, he thought amusedly.

“Yes-,” Sebastian said, stopping in his tracks as Blaine continued forward, hacking away at the grass. Blaine stopped after a moment when he realized Sebastian was no longer following him.

“- but how many princes have seen their kingdom from above?” Sebastian chimed, a playful smirk set on his lips.

After putting more distance between them, Sebastian started to undress, uncaring of Blaine’s eyes roaming over his naked _saarantras_. He laid his clothes upon the grass, got down on both knees and started to unfold.

The muscles under his pale human skin curdled in waves as shiny black scales sprouted out of his dermis, covering Sebastian in his entirety. His bones creaked as his limbs elongated and expanded, a pair of majestic wings spanned from his back; Sebastian had uncurled out of his _saarantras_ and into his true from.

A dragon now stood where a human-formed Sebastian had been.

He flapped his wings once, stretching it out further as he offered a taloned-foot to a gaping Blaine, the makeshift-sickle forgotten on the grass.

“Come with me,” Sebastian’s dragon voice rumbled, the clearing filling with the smell of sulphur-breath from his fire-forming throat.

Before him, Blaine hesitated. Sebastian lowered his long neck and head in a bow.

“Trust me.”

\---

Blaine’s heart rampaged in his chest, his eyes watered from the heat of dragon-Sebastian’s breath. He tilted his head as far back as he could to take in the sight of the dragon before him; he had forgotten how massive Sebastian could be in his true form.

With his heartbeat racing at breakneck speed, he stepped forward and wrapped his hand around one of Sebastian’s talons.

“I trust you,” he whispered. In dragon form or in his saarantras, he was still Sebastian to Blaine.

Blaine ran a hand over Sebastian’s scales as he settled at the base of the dragon’s neck, the surface a juxtaposition of smooth and jagged, of safe and lethal. He turned to regard the spikes that protruded from Sebastian’s body from his lower back down to the ends of his great tail.

“You’re beautiful,” Blaine breathed but he doubted Sebastian heard him, the gust of wind from the dragon’s wing beat carrying the words away.

Before long, they were soaring above the trees and slicing through cotton-white clouds. Sebastian then flew lower so Blaine could have a better view of the world below.

To the north, on either side of the high cliffs of Oscin, stood the fishing villages. Blaine noted the tiny dots of boats on the deep, blue fjords and felt his breath being knocked out of his chest at the terrain’s beauty.

Sebastian swerved to the east where the bright green meadows rolled for miles and miles; Oscin’s beloved farms, rearing cows and goats for their precious milk to churn into cheese. The orchards nestled along the south where Oscin bordered with one of the five realms that exported delectable fruits.

As they circled around the kingdom, they came to the center of it all; the Castle of Oscin. He had never paid any mind to its magnificence before- until now. The parapets encircled the roof of the castle like a crown upon a ruler’s head, the highest tower stood mightily like a perch for an all-seeing eye overlooking the kingdom and maintaining its peace. It was majestic, this castle he called home.

Blaine’s eyes watered, this time from the joy he felt soaring over Oscin as pride bloomed full and bright in his chest looking down at the land. He could hardly contain the joy pooling within him. Then, uninhibited, he opened his mouth and let out the loudest, longest howl he could muster, shrieking his happiness and laughing at the top of his lungs.

Beneath him, Blaine felt a vibrating rumble, the sound that followed like the rolling thunder- only gentler, sweeter. It took awhile for him to gather that it was Sebastian laughing along with him.

-x-


	7. Sebastian

The brook babbled pleasantly, its waters brushing the smooth rocks at the banks. He watched Blaine bury his nose in a book as they sat on a fallen tree next to the water.

“Your brother talks quite a lot, doesn’t he?” Sebastian said, breaking the silence between them.

Blaine sniggered, turning a page nonchalantly. “Is this something you’ve only just come to realize about Cooper?”

A small laugh rolled past his lips. Prince Copeland, or Cooper as Blaine endearingly called him, was of bright and eager mind- although admittedly too eager at times.

“I suppose not,” Sebastian said after a moment. “He has an inexhaustible list of questions on dragons, I must say. He asked me once if I felt remorse over the yaks and bears we dragons hunted. ‘No more remorse than you feel for the necessary game you hunted’ I told him.”

“I’m sure he’s just gathering all the knowledge he can about what it is to be dragon for the day when the gods grant his wish of turning him into one. He’s been praying for it since we were children.”

Sebastian turned to look at Blaine who still had his nose in the book and toes dipped in the brook. He detected a steely coldness in Blaine’s tone, something distressing.

“Do you hate dragons, Blaine?” Sebastian asked, having deduced the source of the prince’s agitation.

He watched as Blaine’s shoulders stiffened a moment before relaxing once more, attention still turned to his book.

“I do not _hate_ dragons. I _dislike_ dragons,” Blaine answered.

“That’s a matter of semantics,” Sebastian said teasingly.

“Perhaps.”

“You dislike me then?” Sebastian asked.

Blaine finally put his book down, turning to face him, the brook babbling uninterrupted.

“You’re not unpleasant, I’ve learned,” the prince said with a wink.

Sebastian laughed. “That’s good to know,” he said, humouring Blaine’s attempt at deflecting. It was something he had noticed Blaine would do when trying to side-step a subject that he wasn’t keen on elaborating on or if he was uncomfortable with.

He let silence fall between them again, turning his face up to feel the morning sun and listened to the chirping birds.

“I don’t dislike dragons, Sebastian,” came Blaine’s voice, softly bouncing off the pages in front of his face. “I dislike _a_ dragon.”

Dislike a dragon. Singular. One.

Questions formed in his mind, lining up eagerly at the tip of his tongue.

Who was the dragon that vexed the prince so?

 But no sooner had the questions taken shape, Sebastian decided to bite down on it. Blaine’s confession might seem trivial to anyone else but Sebastian liked to think he knew the prince quite well by now; the confession was something monumental, a sliver of something personal.

It was for that reason that Sebastian decided that he would hold off on any inquiry. He would wait for when Blaine would choose to expand on the matter on his own accord.

For Blaine, he would wait for as long as it took.

-x-


	8. Blaine

The flames from the lamp posts lining the cobble-stoned street glowed brightly, illuminating the crowd gathering in the square. In the midst of the sea of Oscinites, a man dressed in a crimson robe stepped up on a crate. From the fringes of the crowd, Blaine eyed the unfolding events cautiously, Sebastian at his side.

“Good people of Oscin-” the man bellowed. “Hear me.”

The murmuring of the crowd quietened slightly, curiosity ensnaring them all.

“We the people cannot let dragons live amongst us!” the man shouted, his face a deep red that matched his robe. “Those beasts act as if they are our friends, our allies. But whatever friendship held together by the so-called Peace Treaty is a ruse. It is a sham.”

Blaine edged closer to the middle of the crowd as Sebastian followed closely, the two royal guards charged with protecting the prince not far behind.

“Clearly, dragons regard us a superior race. Why else would they will themselves to transform and take on the human form?” There were murmurs of agreement from the crowd. “They are threatened by us! They are lying in wait, mingling amongst us, learning of our strengths, our weaknesses, so that one day, they will blindside us and they will use it against us.”

Shaking his head, Blaine turned to walk away. He had heard it all before; the Viri Sanctitudo with their crimson robes and their anti-dragon sentiments. The brotherhood of the Viri Sanctitudo had preached against dragons ever since the Peace Treaty was signed, convinced that the treaty would never hold.

“And what of the abominations?” the man bellowed, stopping Blaine in his tracks.

“While they are in their... _saarantras_ -” the man said, spitting the word _saarantras_ with disgust. “- in their human form, they sully our bloodlines, tainting the purity of humankind and bearing these... _ityasaari_ , these half-breed abominations!”

The crowd was getting louder, some angrily demanding the man cease his fear-mongering, others exclaimed in surprised at the prospect of human-dragon breeding.

“They will stop at nothing to end our kind!” the man continued listlessly despite the thinning crowd. “But we the people, we can fight. We can drive out the dragons from Oscin, show them that they are not wanted here. They are not welcomed. We do not need them for we _are_ the superior race.”

Beads of sweat formed along his hairline, his nails digging painfully into his palm. Blaine would have liked nothing more than to have members of the Viri Sanctitudo arrested and tried for being hateful. Alas, there was only so much he could do; Oscinites enjoyed the privilege of free speech. Democracy was the very foundation of his kingdom.

Once upon a time, Blaine had been indifferent to such speeches, having very little care for dragons. But presently, he felt... defensive.

Blaine turned to look at Sebastian who was close at his heels as they made their way out of the crowd; he was quite sure Sebastian was the sole reason for his revised opinion on dragons.

-x-


	9. Sebastian

Moonlight streamed through wispy clouds, the late summer breeze gusting down the alley as Sebastian’s steps echoed off the buildings lining the narrow cobblestoned path. With a smile etched on his face, he made his way to the tavern where he had agreed to meet Blaine for drinks and a game of knucklebones, an occurrence that happened often as of late.

His smile grew wider as he recalled winning a wager against the prince the night before; Sebastian was now two gold coins richer. Perhaps tonight he would double the stakes and wager something more precious, he mused. Perhaps a kiss?

Sebastian was so engrossed in thought, imagining what a kiss would feel like that he hadn’t heard the hurried footsteps from behind. Long shadows leered against the wall beside him but by the time he realized he was being followed, Sebastian thudded to the ground; someone had swiftly struck him hard at the base of his skull. His hands managed to break his fall but the blow did enough to leave him disoriented.

Tasting blood on his tongue where he had bit his lip from the impact, Sebastian cursed the weakness of his _saarantras_. In his dragon form, he wouldn’t be so easily caught off guard, to be incapacitated. But the long limbs and subdued senses of his _saarantras_ made it difficult to fight back.

Sebastian tried to push himself up but received a heavy boot to his back for his efforts. Another blow came to his ribs, bruising his kidneys. He groaned, spitting out blood as he chanced a glance to identify his culprit. Crimson robes fluttered with every of the attacker’s movements, three of them; members of the Viri Sanctitudo.

“Get him on his knees,” one of the men commanded.

 Sebastian heard the sound of shuffling feet, the light footfalls barely making a sound on the cobblestones. Then, two men pulled him up by both arms, coercing him to stand on his knees and face the one who stood before him. Sebastian recognized him as one of the Viri Sanctitudo who had spoken at the city square some nights ago spewing dragon-hate and imbedding irrational fears; the leader.

Angered burned in Sebastian’s chest; these were the men who called for the eradication of his kind- simply for being _non_ human, for being different. He wouldn’t stand for such prejudice. With all his might, he tore his arms away from his captors, shoving them hard into the wall. He bellowed in rage as he blocked an attack from one of the two men, landing a fist on the man’s jaw.

Suddenly, a sharp pain bloomed at his right temple, blurring his vision. He stumbled forward, catching the wall to keep him from falling. As his sights started to focus, Sebastian saw the leader hold a sword, noting the jewels embellishing the handle, the intricate carvings on the blade itself; it looked more like a ceremonial ornament than a weapon but no less threatening. The leader must’ve struck him with the hilt, he thought.

“We will rid Oscin of human-impostors, of foul dragons-” the leader said, slowly raising the sword above his head, its blade gleaming in the moonlight. “- and we shall start with you!”

The blows to the head had rendered his _saarantras_ weak. All Sebastian could do was hold the leader’s gaze; a final stance.

“Do your worst,” Sebastian rasped, challenging.

The leader swung the sword, its blade shining lethally. Time seemed to slow as the steel sliced through the crisp night air.

Suddenly, as the blade was coming down, a hooded figure stepped swiftly in front of him at the last second, quick as a shadow, holding up an arm to hinder the blade’s course. Sebastian watched in disbelief; logic dictated that when a sword struck flesh, it would harm and maim- yet presently, instead of blood and an agonising scream, sparks like glowing embers flew where the steel of the blade met the arm. The leader screamed in exertion, forcing the sword further down but to no avail; it was no match for the arm protecting Sebastian.

The hooded figure then pushed against the sword, thrusting the leader of the brotherhood to the ground, the sword clanging deafeningly throughout the alley.

Something wet and warm trickled down his face as his vision grew blurry again. His fingers came away bloody when Sebastian brought a hand to his forehead. He tried to clutch at the wall for balance but he felt his knees grow too weak to carry his weight. The hooded figure turned to face him. Sebastian wanted to convey his gratitude.

But the ground started to spin. Sebastian’s head felt heavy. His eyes couldn’t focus, the moonlight suddenly too bright.

And then- there was only darkness.

-x-


	10. Blaine

A gentle breeze swirled through the opened windows, carrying away the balmy air in the room, replacing it with the cool night’s air. In the middle of the room was a large bed, its mattress laid upon a wooden base with intricate Oscinite stories carved into it, believed to protect the sleeper from bad dreams.

At the foot of the bed, Blaine stood by the bureau wringing a blood-soaked cloth in the wash basin, tainting the waters a faint red. The room reeked of grounded herbs Blaine had used to concoct a remedy to treat cuts, to heal it and prevent it from becoming infected.

On the bed laid Sebastian, his chestnut brown hair concealed by the white bandages around his head. Blaine watched as the _saar_ ’s chest heaved rhythmically with each breath, his brows furrowing with concern.

Then, a pained groan rumbled in Sebastian’s chest stirring him from his rest. Blaine was at his side in two strides.

“Sebastian?” he called softly.

Sebastian opened his eyes in surprise and bolted upright.

“It’s alright,” Blaine said, comforting the _saar_ and slowly pushing him back onto the pillows. “You’re alright. You’re safe.”

Sebastian blinked in confusion, no doubt disoriented by the blows he had suffered to the head.

“Where am I?” Sebastian asked, taking in his surroundings.

“You’re in my chambers.”

After a moment, Sebastian shot an eyebrow up, seemingly amused. “Never took you for the indecorous one, Your Highness.”

A small laugh escaped his lips, his worry dissipating slightly at Sebastian’s teasing; _He’s alright_ , a voice of relief yelped continuously in his mind.

“What happened?” Sebastian asked, touching the cloth around his head.

“You were attacked by the Viri Sanctitudo, three of them,” Blaine explained, trying to calm the anger festering in his chest as he recounted the events. “You suffered some minor head injuries.”

“Ah, yes,” Sebastian said, forehead wrinkling as he tried to recollect the attack, Blaine presumed. “I remember a sword. And I remember a figure in a hood, dark as the night. He stopped the sword from striking me.”

Blaine felt his chest clench.

“I remember the sparks-” the _saar_ said, relaying his memories. “-like a blacksmith’s hammer striking iron upon the anvil.”

Just then, Sebastian’s face turned ghostly white, drained of blood.

“The alley! I was supposed to meet you at the tavern!” Sebastian half-yelled, gone was his _saar_ composure that he had constantly exuded, grabbing Blaine’s arm urgently. “They didn’t hurt you too, did they?”

Blaine smiled, his heart growing with such fondness for Sebastian; the _saar_ who had claimed emotions were illogical and ‘a chore’, now showed tremendous concern over his well-being.

“No, Sebastian, I’m alright.”

Sebastian let out a sigh of relief, loosening his grip upon Blaine’s arm. But no sooner had he done so, Sebastian’s brow knotted deep in thought, his eyes twinkling with curiosity.

“Blaine-” Sebastian called, sitting up straighter in bed. “- how did I get here?”

The mattress dipped when Blaine boldly sat next to Sebastian, disregarding propriety, their proximity closer than it had ever been.

“Were you-” Sebastian said cautiously. “- were you in the alley?”

With a shaky breath, Blaine stood up again and paced the room, his thoughts conflicted. For so long, he had been used to blending in with shadows, overlooked by those around him. Then, Sebastian had landed in the clearing that night of the summer solstice, the _saar_ a light blazing in his life like a star burning in the atmosphere, glowing brighter as it neared the ground. Over the course of months since that fateful night, Blaine had found the shadows tiresome; he had much rather bask in the flare of Sebastian’s friendship and in all the ways Sebastian made him feel.

 _Time to step into the light_ , Blaine thought, his heart pounding in his chest.

Then, with trembling fingers and eyes closed shut, Blaine pulled back the sleeve of his tunic that covered his left arm. When he opened his eyes, he found Sebastian looking at his arm, staring, although not with fear or disgust as he had always imagined someone would should they truly see him. Instead, Sebastian looked at it with wonder- the way the _saar_ had always looked at him, he suddenly realized.

“Blaine,” Sebastian breathed in awe.

Slowly, Blaine followed Sebastian’s gaze, green eyes fixed on his forearm; silver dragon scales gleamed where olive skin should have been.

“You’re an _ityasaari_.”

 _Ityasaari_ , half dragon; the part of him he had hid all his life.

On the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Peace Treaty, the first time the agreement had been celebrated, a _saar_ of the Ardmagar’s envoy had caught King Ander’s attention. Her _saarantras_ ’ warm hazel eyes and curious mind sparked an interest in the king which had later resulted in a rather amorous indiscretion.

Blaine was born the following spring, left in a basket at the gates of Oscin castle like a nest fallen from a tree, forgotten. The king had taken him in; a half dragon son was still a son yet Blaine had always surmised it was that half that prevented his father from wholly loving him.

His dragon mother had never claimed him a son; neither in part nor as a whole. The queen had never acknowledged him as hers to begin with.

Nursemaids and governesses were paid handsomely for their silence, compensated to forget the silver scales on the young prince’s body.

All his life, Blaine had never felt he belonged; not a dragon, not quite human, either. But knowing Sebastian had unlocked something in him, something he never knew possible. Sebastian made him feel proud to be a dragon- even if he was merely half of the kind. The _saar_ had shown him the exultation of being unabashedly curious, the pride in revering knowledge, the unbridled joy of soaring through the sky; all the things that made a dragon beautiful.

“I am, yes,” Blaine finally said after a long moment of silence. “I am an _ityasaari_.”

 _Ityasaari_. It was the first time Blaine had ever said the word aloud. It was the first time he no longer felt shame in embracing what he truly was.

“May I?” Sebastian asked as he slowly reached for Blaine’s arm.

Blaine nodded his consent, the air thick with anticipation, the sound of his pounding heartbeat loud in his ears. He gasped the moment the pads of Sebastian’s slender fingers touched his scales, shivering at the sensation. No one had ever touched his scaled arm before- not in the way Sebastian did; gentle, caressing, awed.

Blaine leaned into Sebastian’s touch as the _saar_ laid a palm on his arm, stroking it tenderly, burrowing under the sleeve to reach more of him.

Revealing himself to be _ityasaari_ had sparked a boldness in him; Blaine wanted Sebastian to see him, all of him. In a swift move, Blaine pulled his tunic over his head, slowly turning his back to Sebastian. The silver scales on his forearm crept up to his shoulder, gracing down the left side of his back, stopping just above the waist.

Behind him, Blaine heard the sheets rustle. He could feel Sebastian’s eyes on him, taking it all in- the span of skin and scales on his body. Another wave of shivers coursed through his body when Sebastian pressed a hand to the scales on his back, then sliding it up to his shoulder and back down his arm as the _saar_ walked around him, finally stopping to stand before Blaine.

“You’re beautiful,” Sebastian whispered, his breath on his lips.

Slowly, rather cautiously, Blaine boldly pressed their lips together, bringing a hand up to cup Sebastian’s face. The kiss was like embers falling on kindling, catching fire and igniting his soul.

When he pulled his lips away, Sebastian’s eyes fluttered opened, the greens glinting with fascination.

Several heartbeats passed as they merely stood before each other, gazing. Blaine felt liberated in finally showing himself to Sebastian yet the _saar_ looked at him the way he always had; despite hiding his dragon side, Blaine suddenly realized that Sebastian had always _seen_ him.

Then, mimicking his earlier gesture, Sebastian cupped his face and kissed him. Starting slow and languid, the kiss turned deep and hungry, like Blaine had been starving the entire summer for just this.

Slowly, Sebastian walked them back towards the bed, their lips never parting. Blaine climbed clumsily unto the mattress, hands busy finding purchase on Sebastian’s back, along his arm, carding his hair that protruded out of his bandages at the nape of his neck. Once Blaine was lying on the bed, Sebastian hovered over him, a hand stroking his cheek.

“You’re beautiful, Blaine Anderson” Sebastian breathed before moving to kiss the nape of his neck, down the scales of his shoulder, sending titillating shivers to his toes.

For the first time in his life, he really felt it; beautiful. The scales on his body had never served to be more than a reminder of a dragon mother who didn’t want him, of the reasons why he felt no one ever could. But with Sebastian’s lips upon his body- caressing both his scales and skin- he finally felt wanted, desired. And for the first time, he finally felt worthy of affection.

-x-


	11. Epilogue

The trees surrounding the clearing danced in the gusting wind, the day’s light and dusk’s darkening blue skies kissing in the horizon.

King Ander, flanked by his sons, Prince Copeland and Prince Blaine, pressed his forehead to the Ardmagar’s, bidding his comrade farewell in Northlander tradition.

“Should the gods grant me time, we shall meet again at the next jubilee,” King Ander called to the Ardmagar as the _saar_ took his place further down the clearing.

The Ardmagar smiled in the distance. “Should this be last time we met, friend, I am sure your kingdom will thrive in the hands of your successor,” the Ardmagar bellowed, looking to Prince Blaine knowingly.

Prince Blaine briefly ducked his head shyly before looking up once more, squaring his chest, radiating with pride and nodded once in acknowledgement. “Prince Copeland was born to be king,” the Ardmagar had said once in confidence. “But you, Your Highness, have the heart of one.”

“Uphold the treaty,” boomed the Ardmagar’s voice from the clearing, looking past Prince Blaine. “Peace between our dragonkind and humans is vital for the prosperity and growth of generations to come.”

Next to Prince Blaine, a figure clad in the royal colours of Oscin stepped forward, bowing at the Ardmagar’s command. It was the _saar_ Quinn, newly appointed dragon ambassador to Oscin.

Since the attack on the _saar_ Sebastian by the Viri Sanctitudo, both King Ander and the Ardmagar agreed that having a constant dragon presence in Oscin would help strengthen the treaty, to reassure a handful of paranoid Oscinites that dragons weren’t hiding in their country plotting to wipe out the world of the human race.

Dragons had started arriving in Oscin for the past two weeks upon King Ander’s invitation, shrunk down to their _saarantras_ and eagerly started learning about cultures of the North, to impart their expertise in astronomy and mathematics to those who sought it. And a heavier dragon presence opened an ambassadorial position in the royal council; a position the _saar_ Quinn filled expertly upon the Ardmagar’s recommendation.

Her first hire as ambassador had been to recruit the _saar_ Sebastian as her assistant, viewing his growth in diplomacy since striking a friendship with Prince Blaine as an advantage, an asset to building stronger diplomatic relations with the North and its five realms.

In the clearing, the Ardmagar and the three _saars_ \- two had arrived a week earlier to replace the _saars_ Quinn and Sebastian in the entourage- started to uncurl out of their _saarantras_ and into their true forms. There, on the eve of the autumnal equinox, four magnificent dragons spread their wings and flew up into the night.

The sun set in its entirety, the flames of the torches swaying in the breeze. As the king’s envoy started to disperse and return to the castle, two figures remained in the clearing- Prince Blaine and the _saar_ Sebastian- their faces tilted to the sky.

In the quiet of the night, the _saar_ slid a hand into the prince’s, intertwining their fingers as they watched the dragons soar through the clouds before disappearing in the distance.

-The End-

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading.  
> Comments welcomed.
> 
> I implore you to read Rachel Hartman's "Seraphina" and "Shadow Scale".


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